Video: Michael Phelps filmed a Speedo commercial downtown

Michael Phelps may or may not be the best swimmer in the world -- fellow American Ryan Lochtehas closed the gap since Beijing, though we have yet to see a focused Phelps -- but when it comes to getting paid to film commercials about swimming, no one can touch the 14-time Olympic gold medalist from Rodgers Forge.

His latest commercial is for Speedo International, but thankfully, Phelps isn’t actually wearing a Speedo. Instead, he walks down a pier on a gloomy day in Baltimore. In the 30-second spot, he says, “I just thought living in Baltimore was kind of the normal thing” and talks about his connection with the city and the water.

“Being on the water, living on the water, always surrounding myself with water,” said Phelps, who owns a condo in Fells Point. “I spend so much time around it and so much time in it that it’s kind of like we’re one.”